Summer Language Goals: Clear The List

Hola! 你好! Živjo, Bonjour…

Welcome to my summer language learning update through #clearthelist. Hosted by Shannon of Eurolinguiste and Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages. Clear the List is an awesome monthly support and accountability linkup for language learners who like to set regular language learning goals.

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I have a strong local accent and struggle with pronunciation. This can be more of a problem with the tonal languages I’m learning, such as Chinese Mandarin. So my main goal over summer is to really focus on my pronunciation of Spanish and Mandarin, whilst adding a brand new language to the equation – Slovenian (Slovene). I’ll be updating this article once a month with the progress I’m making until September…

This summer I’ll be joined by my Little Learner who is wanting to improve her French, Spanish and has just started learning Mandarin Chinese with me…

Updates…

August – Little Language learning did her presentation on China and spoke in Chinese Mandarin for 2 minutes. 😀 I have learnt how to say hello in Slovene, count to 10 and do very basic introductions. This is brilliant as before June I knew nothingof the language!

June – I am really excited to announce that I am now CELTA (Basically a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) qualified! This was one of the hardest courses I have ever done and it made me realize just had difficult the English language is. I am currently doing another course with the focus on business English for Professionals. In June, whilst attempting to chat in Spanish with some natives I ended up going French! It was both rather embarrassing, but equally hilarious at the same time! This made me realize that I really need to knuckle down and regain my focus.

My little learner is excited about the new Chineasy for Children book that is launching in July and I’ve pre-ordered a copy for her. I’m excited too as my new notebook has arrived and as much as I love bullet journalling I’m going to get creative with an interactive language notebook. However, little learner also has her eyes on my new notebook too…I’m going have to order another one! (UPDATE: Little language learner STOLE my notebook and used it to plan her Chinese presentation and write vocab for French and Spanish).

Pronunciation is key for me and I’ll be using Speechling to really get to grips with any areas of weakness. What I love about Speechling is they share the same values as Language Learners Journal Ltd.

“Everyone in the world deserves access to quality language education.”

Speechling

Finally, I will be using Flash Academy for gamification of Spanish and vocabulary building on the go. To keep language learning fun and help with my motivation I’ll be using The Take Action Calendar for Language Learners. It’s designed to spread a little kindness across the language learning community too.

Our August Goals

Little Language Learner

Little Learner will be continuing with her Chinese over the summer holidays and will be using the Hello Chinese App. She will also be using Duolingo for Spanish. As of September, the school has announced they will be teaching Chinese Mandarin to students!

Mama Language Learner

In August my main focus will be on Slovene, but I’ll still be using Duolingo for Spanish and helping the little learner with Chinese. I have booked an Italki package for Slovene and will be posting regular updates in the Languages of Slovenia Challenge Group and on my blog Learning Slovenian in 90 Days.

Our Goals for July

Little Language Learner

My little language learner is taking part in a speaking challenge at her school. Were she will be doing 2 whole minutes in Mandarin and preparing a presentation in Chinese! The school has given options so children can now choose the language they want to study. My Little Learner has switched to Spanish because she has been learning that language since Primary School and it’s the language of her ancestors.

Mama Language Learner

I’m delighted to have my little language learner by my side and I’ll be helping with the preparation for her speaking challenge in Chinese as well as posting my progress videos in the free #LLAP challenge. I’ll also be helping others to learn English, which I am super excited about. I have scheduled in some Chinese lessons on Italki and will be taking part in their 12-hour challenge for July. Plus I’ve joined the Languages of Slovenia Challenge where I’m introducing Slovene into the mix! You can follow my progress here.

Our Goals for June

So as you can see I’ll be using a range of resources to really stimulate my brain and help me get to at least B1 in Spanish and HSK2 in Mandarin Chinese by September 2018.

My little learner is studying French at school and her goal is to be top set for French. She also recognizes 70+ Chinese Characters now and we are learning Chinese together at home.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the link-up.

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The Mindful Language Learner

Trisha, is the founder of Language Learners Journal.com. An award-winning blog dedicated to empowering and promoting a more mindful approach to independent language learning and teaching across the UK and beyond.
Trisha has a professional and academic background in psychology and well-being. She has been practicing mindfulness for over 20 years and has professionally taught CBT-based mindfulness for the past 7 years.
You can follow Trisha on her official Facebook Page, Instagram or Twitter accounts to discover how to apply simply mindfulness practices and scientifically proven strategies to your language learning...
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Does your little language learner just like learning languages or do you do something to encourage her to learn? My son is two and my wife and her parents speak Cantonese to him every day. Now he speaks Cantonese better than English, but I think the real test comes later on.